The present invention relates to prefabricated wiring for buildings under construction and in particular to a method and apparatus for reducing steps required to be performed at the buildings under construction.
Buildings for both residential and commercial use are often constructed using prefabricated elements to reduce cost and construction time. Such prefabricated elements include structure, cabinetry, and electrical. As part of the prefabricated electrical elements, prefab junction box assemblies are commonly assembled off-site, shipped to the construction site, and integrated into the building. Known prefab box assemblies include a junction box, plaster ring, switch or outlet, and wiring. A mounting bracket may be sandwiched or otherwise attached between the junction box and the plaster ring to facilitate mounting the prefab box to framing members at the construction site. Wires are connected to the switch or outlet and are coiled inside the prefab box with twist-on wire connectors over ends of the wires.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a bracket and open back junction box assembly including an open back junction box having an open back and an attachable rear cover plate for attaching to the open back junction box over the open back. The bracket and open back junction box assembly further includes a plaster ring, a mounting bracket sandwiched between the plaster ring and the open back junction box (or other external mounting means), a switch or an outlet attached to the plaster ring, leads attached to the electrical device, labels on each lead identifying each lead, twist-on wire connectors residing over free ends of each lead. The bracket and open back junction box assembly may further include a Metal Clad (MC) cable attached to the open back junction box and wires carried in the MC Cable or EMT connected to corresponding ones of the leads.
Known prefab boxes further require the use of a “ground-clip” which while approved by UL and the NEC, is not liked by contractors and inspectors. The use of a ground clip also results in interference with other elements of the junction box, for example, some common types of plaster rings and fittings, and most notably interferes with a two-gang adjustable plaster ring.